Logical Weight Loss Podcast

Today we get some insights from a listener who has lost over 63 lbs. Way to go Nancy. Also special thanks to Gail from Australia who got a fitbit, and a gymboss. Quick Notes: Runkeeper now allows you to set goals, and alert friends. My Stiiv took a nasty dive, and lived to tell. Woo-hoo! You can get your own personal trainer at Fitorbit.com Plans go from $10 -$20 a week. Jillian Michaels now has a show on Youtube.   Obeying May Not Be Our Nature I was listening to Mark Gungor who is the man behind the Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage (a great DVD set), and in one of his sermons he mentioned that many Christians haven't read any of the gospels from start to finish, and if he have read it, we still don't want to do what Jesus said to do. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This country (US) was started by people who basically said, "You can't tell me what to do!" Keep in mind that you don't always have to understand something to obey it. We also don't have to agree with something to obey it. In general it is our nature to do what we want. However, that may not be what is best for you (i.e. Chocolate cake). When we fight the urge to "do what we want" we are actually putting ourselves first. It doesn't feel that way, but in the long run you will feel better. When I was in my 20s I was told to start putting "just a little" part of my paychecks aside into a savings account and I would be REALLY glad I did when I was older. I didn't - I sure wish I had. It was great advice. But I "did what I wanted" and now later I regret some of those financial decisions. We are all going to follow this and be feeling the same way about our health. Time and time again we read to eat less and exercise more. We need to obey this command and realzie that we may not agree with it, and we may not understand it, but we need to OBEY the truth that is the fact that if you eat more calories than you burn you gain weight. Consequently, we need to exercise more and eat less. Amazon.com Widgets 

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

Healthy Eating Starts at the Grocery Store If you don't buy chips and ice cream, you can't eat chips and ice cream. In almost every book I've read about losing weight and staying healthy they always note that one of the worst things you can do is go to the grocery store when you are hungry. If you want to take a bad idea to the next level, go to the grocery store when you're hungry, and you didn't create a list. By having a shipping list you can look at it and know if you're headed in the right direction. High Tech Grocery Lists Mighty Grocery I decided to see what kind of grocery list tools I could get on my phone (android). I found Mighty Grocery. I love it as it uses the voice recognition to enter items into my list. If you put out the money for the pro version (just a few bucks) you can use your scanner on your phone to scan in items as you create your meals, and then they are already on your list. If you want to get super specific, you can enter what aisle and amount for each item. There is a web based version so I can add items to my list (or my family could add items to the list after I leave for the store). If you enter the pricing information you can see how much your trip to the store will cost. You check items off as you go. It's pretty cool. The voice recognition is pretty spot on. Food on the Table Food on the table allows you to select your local grocery store, select your favorite foods, and select your motivation for shopping (healthy, etc). It then provides meals and recipes and grocery lists. It also has an android and iPhone app. You can print your list, or view it on your smart phone. Meals Matter Meals Matter promotes nutrient-rich food choices from all five food groups, and strives to equip family meal preparers with the tools and resources they need to make meal planning decisions that lead to better health.  When you sign up you are provided with recipe ideas and more information focused on meal planning. No smart phone required. Plan To Eat Plan to Eat was born out of our desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. But without planning, it just didn’t happen as often as we wanted. Plan to Eat organizes all of your recipies in one place. You can drag and drop recipes into a food planner. YOur food planner then automatically creates your shopping list. It's $4.95 a month, or $40 a year. SparkPeople If you're using Sparkpeople to track your food, you can create a grocery list based on the items you've consumed. Do you have a favorite Grocery List tool? Leave a comment below. Fitness Tips from the Audience Kelly Preston said this on the Lose it Forums" " I'm making one of my family's favorites Alton Brown's swiss steak. Out of curiosity I looked it up on LINE before entering my recipe. If you order the swiss steak at Dennys you will pay a whopping 1000 calories no sides included. If you make your own swiss steak and modify the amount of fat you brown your meat in (1/4 cup bacon grease, uh no) and watch the serving size you can have an entire meal for half that. I'm talking about a decadent meal with real mashed potatoes or none if you are low carbing it. The point is do they give you a lumberjack size serving or just put a block of lard in all the food? BTW if you work for Dennys I am in no way meaning to insult you. Just my observations" Quick Fitness Motivation "Now matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch." "Losers look at what they are going through, Winners look at where they are going TO." "People who say it couldn't be done, should get out of the way of the people who are doing it."

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

A no nonsense approach to weight loss. This down to earth delivery from the "Average Joe" trying to lose weight like you. The community around this show is awesome as we share insights into what is working in fitness, diet, and nutrition. You can lose weight, and we can help.

If you've listened to the show before, you know that I'm a huge fan of the fitbit. In today's podcast I talk about using a Striiv unit. It's SUPER easy, and super motivational. It doesn't need a computer and when you turn it on it walks you through setting it up. From there as you start moving it tracks your movements, and rewards you for moving, while motivating to move more. There are challenges that are organized by difficulty. When you win these you are awarded bonus points (for example take 200 steps in 15 minutes). This can be huge for your self-esteem. The easy challenges are just that - easy (at least for me). This means when you're first starting out you will be able to complete these challenges and boost your confidence. The Stiiv makes fitness a fun game that you play against yourself.  The thing that I found very cool is it politely nudges you to do just a little more. When I got done walking for 15 minutes, it asked me to walk three more minutes. I accepted the challenge. By doing "just a little more" I can see where these little challenges will add up. It's not surprising that the Average Striiv users walk 60 minutes a day--almost double the national average. The other thing that makes the unit easy to use is the display is two inches. For me it makes it easy to read. It even has a small speaker for the "Myland" video game that is built into the unit (where you earn points and unlock different aspects of the game by moving). If I had one concern (but not really) it would be about its accuracy. To make a long story short, I did three tests of walking on a flat hallway where I counted 50 steps. In those three tests of 50 steps, the fitbit was only off by one step. The strivv was off by 7. By the end of the day, my fitbit said I had 1000 more steps than the striiv. As I look at my readout now, my fitbit says I've taken 1565 steps. The striiv says I've taken 1097. When you think about it, if you want your tracking device to be inaccurate you want it to report LESS so you walk MORE (most treadmills grossly exagerate calories burned).  Likewise there is a fairly large discrepancy in terms of calories burned at the end of the day. I don't count this as a huge negative as I'm not sure any device is going to accurately calculate how many calories I burn based on my age, height, and weight. It's always a guestimate. It takes 2 hours to charge the unit if you're plugging it into the wall, and four hours if you're charging it via a USB cable plugged into a computer. Once charged, it should last about a week without needing recharged. The one thing that motivated me (that I didn't expect to motivate me)  was the "Walkathon" where I signed up (for free) to have water donated for people in Africa every time I go 18,000 steps. That moved me to keep moving when I got up to 17,000 steps. And I can always see how close I am to my next water donation. If someone said "which one would you pick" in regards to the Striiv vs Fitbit, its hard. The one thing that a fitbit does is you can use their website (for free) to track your calories, sleep, and much more and if you really want to diagnose your weight loss efforts, it's a great tool. If I'm looking for motivation to keep moving? I really liked the Striiv and its ever so polite "nudging." I liked the easy to read graphics, stats, etc without needing a computer. With the different levels of challenges, and all the stats I don't see myself getting bored with this unit any time soon. I can see where I'm much less likely to lose the Strivv (being bigger and white), but the flip slide to that is when you are wearing the clip you are aware of it (which is why I've been putting it in my pocket instead). I guess it depends on what you are looking to do. Both are great motivational tools. Check out fitbit.com and watch pick up a Striiv at Amazon.com   Fitdeck Nutrition Fitdeeck has come out with a new set of cards and tools in their "Fitdeck Nutrition" section.

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

Today we find out that if you want to burn some serious calories, well in the immortal words of David Lee Roth - JUMP. It incinerated 100 calories in fewer than 8 minutes. "When it comes to cardio, nothing burns better than jumping rope, and it tones head-to-toe," says Gerald Calvo, group fitness manager of Equinox in New York City and creator of its Rope Burn class. Fine-tune your form with his tips, then hop to it for up to 5 minutes for a warm-up, 20 minutes for a full cardio session, or 30 seconds between strength sets to drop pounds by leaps and bounds.  read full article. Looking for some jump ropes? You can get and Adjustable length jump rope for less than $20. Sports Bra Fitting Reviews - Avoiding uni-Boob, Side Boob and all Points in Between... We get some insights into Sports bras from Bari Lieberman. She tested the following models: Panache Women's Underwired Sports Bra Enell Sports Bras - Ecru - 00 Under Armour - Armour Bra (1233074) Losing Weight ons an insane schedule - Robert lost 100 lbs! Define what you have control over (and what you don't) then identify opportunities and make the most of them. It its only 15 minutes, then make it a good 15 minutes. Treat your exercise like your second job. You can't write it off. Good stuff. Full Article.

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

Today we mention a new tools that your fitbit ties into (myfitnesspal), we have some tips and tips to keep you moving in the right direction. Slimkicker.com Slimkicker.com is a brand new website that has everything you need. 1. Track your food and your exercise. 2. Forums to get that social support. 3. Motivational tools like competitions, and different levels. I also love their very simple interface that displays some great information. It's in beta, but you can check it out at slimkicker.com Free Interval Trainer For Your Smart Phone In today's episode I start a free interval trainer for your smart phone. You can create custom routines, and workouts. The best part is its free. For more information go to www.runkeeper.com If you don't have a smart phone, check out Gym Boss.   Jerome Merlau lost 100 pounds a year ago. It takes COURAGE to admit you have to change I feel better My body doesn't ache as much No more constant back pain I walk much better I walk much faster I can walk up stairs without gasping for air I don't sleep in my chair much anymore I can spend more time with my family since I don’t sleep in my chair I've stopped snoring I look much better I am much healthier My waist is much smaller My muscles are better defined in arms My muscles are better defined in legs I have much more energy My eyes are much more open My head is clearer My clothes last longer I've learned everybody has something to say about how you lost it I've learned that tracking food is a must I've learned that fitness has to be a way of life I've learned that I have to do both of those every day I CAN live without Dr. Pepper daily I CAN live without Reese's peanut butter cups daily I've learned that after not eating junk food for a while, I don’t like it really, it makes me feel bad Chewing gum helps I've learned to LOVE water I've learned to eat slower I've learned I can eat smaller portions and STILL fuel my body properly I've learned to SHARE meals with my wife at restaurants I've learned to FUEL my body, not FILL my body I've learned it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle I've learned I WILL mess us. We must forgive and move forward I enjoy being "checked out" now and then I enjoy being a role model I enjoy working out I honestly enjoy sweat Running is cheaper than therapy Running is better with good shoes Runners are partially insane (in a good way)--OK, just plain crazy I've learned to LOVE running I've learned I don’t HAVE to sit and watch TV all the time It's fun to see reactions of friends you've not seen in a while I've learned that a lot of people say they want to lose weight, but they don't want to do the work I've also learned that a lot of people say they want to lose weight, but have no clue where to start I learned I hated to have my picture taken when I was fat I learned I don't mind having my picture taken now I learned that my before picture can motivate people I've learned that there are people who discriminate against obese people I can see my feet! I am much more comfortable in my car now My driver’s seat doesn't seem to go "flat" now Office chairs are much more comfortable Diet pill commercials make me angry Sex is better

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

In the past we talked about the S2H products that you kids can wear and earn points to redeem for prizes. There is even a S2H Pedometer that gives you a code when you walk 10,000 steps.  Earlier this week I discovered via the Biggest Loser their Slimcoach device (it's actually a MyTrak device). It has some great features like the ability to use a hear rate monitor in tandom with its pedometer features.  You can also use it if you swim. It's got ONE button to make it super easy to use. It is $129 a year. You can read more details here. In looking at some articles about this device I found a new device that should excite those people who want it easy, and do NOT want to mess with a computer. It's called the Striiv Personal Trainer. I can see this as a great tool for both adults and children. In fact they just came out with a new feature where you can challenge another Stiiv user to a challenge (again without a computer). It seems really cool. It's super easy and every night at midnight it resets your stats.  There are multiple ways to motivate you to move. 1. If you are a person who cares about the suffering in the world, when you walk you can donate your steps towards goals such a vaccines, water, and the rain forest. 2. If you are a competitive person, you can track your best efforts and try to better them. 3. There are challenges that you can do (again very game based) that make it fun as well as challenging. 4. There is a "myland" game where you walk to generate energy and then use the energy in the game to build things. If you've see "the SIMS" video game, this reminds me of that, or Farmville. Two words: very cool. I love this thinking outside the box. I have a niece who graduate high school with a year of college credits as she started learning very early when we bought her computer games. When you're having fun, it doesn't seem like work. It does track both your steps, stairs, calories burned, and distance. It can be carried on your hip, pockets, purses, or even clipped to a key chain (how cool). It has multiple sensors to detect your activity. The price is $99, and I could see this being something that parents could use to introduce fitness back into the family (assuming you don't have 5 kids). I'm going to contact the company about getting my hands on one for some real life experience with the unit. From the videos I've watched this could be a very cool product. Buy at AMAZON.com   Rebounding From a Bad Week I'm bummed that after losing weight fora few weeks, in just a few days I seem to have gained a lot of it back. It reminds me of standing on a treadmill. When you walk on it, you don't seem to get anywhere but if you stop, you will go backwards. With me, I took my focus on my health for a few days and that weight came right back. Am I upset? Sure. But lets harness that frustration at the gym, and instead take a look at the week and analyze it. For me this coming week I will be traveling. I need to pack some food, and find something to do if I get bored (luckily a planet fitness is about 5 minutes from the hotel. Don't beat yourself up. Learn from your mistakes, and design future steps to avoid repeating your mistakes. many times this starts with getting some sleep.

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.

If you haven't joined one of our competitions, today is the day to do it as they start tomorrow. (Free) at Skinnyo.com (28 days) Thintopia.com 12 Weeks $5 Earndit.com 28 days (trackers) I accidentally state in this podcast that they start on Monday. That is WORNG (and I don't have time to re-record). So join today. It's going to be fun. Dave

Join Dave Jackson and he shares insights into geeky weight loss gadgets, insightful articles, and success stories on losing weight, feeling better, and living healthier. He's also pretty darn funny.